The Monster
by Laboon's Wrath
Summary: A series of anonymous tips leads Mako to a day he had been certain would never come - the day he would finally be able to confront the man who murdered his parents. Will Mako's desire for revenge consume him? It's "The Southern Raiders" for The Legend of Korra!


It had started with a tip.

An anonymous message slipped into Mako's desk drawer while he was on coffee break is what had started him on this path, brought him down the road that led to here and now: Staked out in front of a grimy, _rancid_-smelling alleyway waiting for a certain man to emerge from the "secret" dive bar tucked away in the alley. The police knew all about the bar, of course, but sometimes it could be beneficial for the underworld to think they had a few secrets.

Mako scowled. How long was this going to take? He leaned against the handlebars of his dormant motorbike, peering into the dim wash of light that misted the alley.

His heart was racing. He had scarcely imagined that this day would ever come. Even now it felt like a dream. If it was a dream, though, it wasn't a dream from which he wanted to wake. Not yet. Not when he was _so close_.

Tonight, Mako would finally confront the man who killed his parents.

"_Give me all the money you have! Every last yuan!"_

"_Don't touch my wife, you-"_

"_Don't make this hard! Not a move forward, you hear me! Give me the money or we'll see how pretty the lady is with her face on fire!"_

"_Let go of her!"_

"_Daddy! What-"_

"_Don't come closer! Don't make me-"_

Mako shook his head to dispel the memories. He relived that night constantly in his nightmares. He had for almost fourteen years. After tonight, though, those memories would never plague him again. Finally, he could get some closure. Finally, he could take revenge.

His mouth felt dry at the thought, and he gripped his sleeves tightly. He was tempted to bust down the door of the bar and just torch the place, be done with it all. But no. He wanted - _needed_ - to be face-to-face with this man. To see the fear in his eyes, the same fear Mako's mother and father had shown begging for their lives before he snuffed them out.

A frightening sneer crossed Mako's lips. He had yearned for this for years. He imagined the mugger's panicked blubbering in his mind. The imaginary sound was utterly symphonic. Mako was looking forward to hearing it for real.

_Mako found the note crumpled up in the top drawer of his desk. He definitely hadn't put it there, so who did?_

"_Probably Lu and Gang trying to mess with me again," he muttered. "Assholes. Don't know _why_ Beifong ever bumped them back up to detective."_

_He unfolded the piece of paper carelessly, ripping it slightly. It didn't particularly matter to him what Lu and Gang had to say, but sometimes their harassing letters were worth a laugh or two._

_He read the note's single line. That handwriting didn't belong to either Lu or Gang. And what did this message mean? Was someone trying to tell him something?_

_The only words written on the piece of paper were these:_

"_His name is Kohaku."_

_Well, whatever that meant, Mako didn't see how it could be of any use to him. He crumpled the note back up and tossed it in the wastebasket._

_He'd have to have a word with the chief about office pranks later._

The minutes ticked into hours, and still Mako waited. If he had gotten a bum tip…

But he couldn't risk that. If the tip _had_ been good then he needed to be here, tonight. He'd wait as long as he needed to. Midnight had long passed by, but Mako didn't feel tired in the slightest. He didn't know if that was the adrenaline or sheer determination, and he didn't much care regardless. That wouldn't matter until after he'd done what he'd needed to do.

Even if he had been tired, he wouldn't have allowed himself any rest. Just a bit longer and he'd finally be able to sleep easy for the rest of his life.

_As the weeks passed, more and more notes made their way into Mako's desk. Each one consisted of a single sentence regarding this mysterious "Kohaku." No one seemed to know who was planting the notes, or who this Kohaku was. The notes became a part of Mako's regular routine - an annoying, time-wasting part, but a part nonetheless. Mako barely paid the notes any mind until yesterday. As he read the day's note over and over, trying to fully comprehend it, his heart sunk lower and lower._

_The note read "he is the man who killed your parents."_

_The words swam around in his head for the rest of the day, supplanting almost all other thought. He barely spoke to Bolin that night, and in his dreams all he saw were those words repeated over and over again._

_The next day - today - Mako found a new note in the usual place. His heart raced as he read the requisite single line. He couldn't believe his eyes. Was this really happening?_

"_Tonight, he will be in the dive bar on Ursa Street until after midnight."_

_Underneath the writing was a sketch of a man's face. Time had weathered and chipped away at it, but Mako still would have recognized that face anywhere. It was, without a doubt, the face of the man who still terrorized his dreams._

_Mako crumpled the paper up and held it close to his chest._

_Tonight._

_He knew what he had to do._

The rusty iron door of the bar creaked open, and Mako was snapped back to the present. He slid off his bike and slinked to the corner of the alleyway's entrance to get a better look of who was stepping out of the den.

the sunken eyes, the matted hair, the scar-stitched face - there was no mistake. This was the man Mako had been waiting for.

The young firebender stepped into the alley and advanced on the wobbling drunk. Spirits, Mako could smell the alcohol on the man from here.

"Is your name Kohaku?" Mako barked. The man scowled, clearly interpreting Mako's question as a challenge in his drunken stupor.

"Yeah, thas' me," the man slurred defiantly. "Y'wanna go, kid? I'll take ya. I'll take anyone-"

Something inside Mako snapped, and everything turned red. For a few moments it felt like he was outside his own body, watching what was happening but unable to do anything about it. He was an observer as he surged forward, grabbing Kohaku by the collar and slamming him brutally against the wall. It wasn't until after Mako had rammed his fist once, twice, three times into the drunk's face that he finally felt in control again.

Kohaku groaned pathetically. His whining only served to make Mako angrier. A flame began to burn in his palm, growing steadily in size until it raged around his fist, burning away at the gloves he wore.

Mako glowered at the weeping man with unrestrained hatred. "Fourteen years ago," Mako snarled, "you mugged a man, a woman, and two young children. Do you remember?"

"I- I- I- don't- I don't-" Kohaku stammered. The musty stench of piss filled the air, and Mako had to force himself to not look down.

The fire around Mako's hand grew bigger and hotter as his fury intensified. "You took the woman hostage!" he shouted. "When the man tried to rescue her, you killed them both! Burned them alive and _you laughed_! You ran away and left those two children sobbing over the corpses of their mother and father! You stole their childhood!"

Mako was losing himself in his anger again, and with every passing moment he felt more of a longing to see this man dead at his feet. He dragged Kohaku up the wall, never breaking eye contact. The man was sobbing now. Pathetic. Where was that malice and menace now that he was the one whose life was at stake?

"Do you remember _now_?" Mako hissed, murderous desire dripping from every syllable.

Kohaku wailed. "Oh, spirits, spirits, no!" he sobbed. "You- your face- I remember- the kid!" His entire body quivered with terror. "Oh, spirits, kid, I- I'm sorry, OK? I didn't- I was y-young and stupid and- oh, spirits, please don't kill me, please! I'm beggin' ya! Please!"

Mako snapped again.

"They said please too," he spat. He drew his fist back - just one strike, and it would all be over -

_ZZZZZZPPPPP_

A metal cable zipped through the air and wound itself around Mako's wrist, holding him back from the final blow.

"Who-?!" Mako's head snapped around, and his eyes widened in shock as he saw who was at the end of the cord.

Lin Beifong. The Chief. His boss. Her stance was firm and her teeth were clenched. She was the only thing keeping him from killing his parents' murderer.

"Let me go, Chief!" Mako snapped. "You don't understand! I _have_ to do this! This man-"

"I know who this man is!" Lin barked back. "You think you're the only one who's been reading those notes? I knew what you were planning on doing tonight, and I followed you so that I could stop you from making the stupidest mistake of your life!"

"Butt out, Beifong!" Mako yelled over Kohaku's increasingly-loud sobbing. Any veneer of professionalism was lost, replaced by desperation to finally see this man dead. "I _need_ this! I could never rest easy knowing that this _monster_ is walking around freely!"

"Monster?!" Lin repeated incredulously, straining to keep Mako's fist back. "Look at him, officer! His nose his broken, he's crying like a baby, and he's pissed his pants at least twice by now! He's a pathetic nobody now, and he was a pathetic nobody back then! A damn punk, hopped up on who knows what, who decided to try and rob some easy marks, and who panicked when things got out of hand!"

"But-"

"What did you think?!" Lin continued. "That your parents' killer was some big shot triad boss? Don't flatter yourself, kid! He's nothing but a two-bit piece of street scum. Republic City has more of them than it does Satomobiles, you know that! Killing him wouldn't do a damn thing for this city, and it wouldn't do a damn thing for you!"

"I- I need closure!" Mako protested, but Lin was starting to wear him down. The fire burning around his hand began to shrink.

"You want closure, huh?" Lin scowled. "How's this: you're a former professional athlete and current police officer with a solid shot at making chief someday. You dated the Avatar, helped save the world no fewer than four times, and blew up a _fucking_ giant mecha-tank! All of this long after this so-and-so killed your parents! Your life has moved on from that! It's time your mind did too!"

Lin's expression grew more sympathetic, almost caring. "What happened to your parents was a tragedy," she told him, "and you're going to carry that pain with you probably for the rest of your life. But just _think _for a damn minute and ask yourself if murdering this man would really help you heal. _Please_, Mako. This isn't a choice you're going to be able to walk away from without any consequences."

She flicked her wrist, and the cable snapped back into her uniform. She left it to Mako to decide what happened next.

Mako narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist. He stared into Kohaku's eyes. They were empty, devoid of any emotion except fear and despair. It hardly felt like he was looking at a person at all.

He couldn't do it. It wasn't worth it.

The fire died away, and Mako let go of Kohaku's collar, dropping the man onto the alley's slippery street. The drunk curled into the fetal position, sobbing uncontrollably. Was this really the man Mako had feared for so many years? The man who had made Mako hate himself for so long because he could make fire like his parents' killer? It didn't seem possible.

"I guess… I guess it wouldn't really help me," Mako admitted, hanging his head shamefully. He felt a firm hand grasp his shoulder, and he looked up to see the soft smile of Lin Beifong. "You made the right choice, kid," she said. "I'm proud of you. Now, c'mon. Hop on the bike. I'll drive you home."

"Th-thanks," Mako said gratefully. "For everything."

"I just didn't want to have to book my favorite officer," Lin winked. "Again, I mean."

Mako looked back down at Kohaku, who was still curled up and crying. Just a few minutes ago, Mako had felt nothing but anger and hatred for the man. Now… now he couldn't say he felt anything.

He looked away from his parents' killer. His face would never haunt Mako's dreams again.

"I have to wonder," Mako asked as he climbed onto the bike, "who was it who left those notes? It had to have been someone who knew what happened to my family."

"Don't worry about it, kid," Lin said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "It doesn't matter now."

She revved the bike, and together she and Mako sped away into the night.

Shady Shin watched the scene from the rooftop overlooking the alleyway. Through his binoculars, he watched Mako and the Chief ride away from the alley and from Kohaku. When they'd finally vanished from view, he put down the binoculars and put his hands on his hips, flashing an amused grin at no one in particular.

"Well, whaddya know?" he laughed. "Guess old Sharky's changed after all."

He shook his head and laughed some more. "Whatever, pal. I still say we're even. Services rendered."

Shady Shin gazed up at the stars. He remembered all those times Mako had told him that one day he'd find the man who killed his parents and avenge them. The kid had been obsessed with it.

Now, Shady Shin couldn't help but feel a swell of pride for the youth.

"You grew up good, kid," he murmured. "Keep up the good work."


End file.
